Why Take DNA Test?

Why should I take a Y-DNA test?By Nancy Rivers
“I know my ancestry. I have researched my lineage and feel confident of the ancestors that I have found are really my ancestors. I am proud of my heritage – there wasn’t a grave robber among them. If I am not really a descendent of the ancestors I believe are mine, I do not want to know. Why on earth would I want to take a DNA test?”

Believe it or not, that is a very common sentiment among men who have been asked to take a Y-DNA test for genealogy purposes. Perhaps someone you know feels this way, or perhaps you feel this way yourself. Here are a couple of reasons why you should encourage any male who feels this way to get his Y-DNA test taken:
1) What if there is a “long lost” cousin out there who doesn’t realize that he has the same lineage as you and is still trying to find his ancestors? Think about this. How long did you have to search to find your ancestors? Was it easy? Or were there instances where the paper record just never really seemed to help and you were at the proverbial brick wall? If you’re long lost cousin is at his brick wall and decides to take a Y-DNA test in an effort to make contact with another male cousin who might be able to help figure out his ancestry.
2) Do you know all of the descendants of all of your ancestors? Chances are you do not. Wouldn’t you like to be able to welcome another cousin into your awesome family heritage? A quick and easy way to do that would be to take a Y-DNA test so that your long lost cousin can find you and be able to celebrate that wonderful heritage that you enjoy.

Well, those reasons are just fine and all, but there have already been others from my family that have had their Y-DNA tested, so why should I? That’s a great question. While for the most part the Y-DNA passes unchanged from father to son, there are instances where certain parts of it does change and geneticists call this a “mutation”. When comparing DNA from 2 individuals, if there are more than a certain number of mutations, it is determined that the 2 individuals are not related. There have been instances where the DNA has one or two mutations between father and son. Now imagine that son having 2 sons who also happen to get a couple more mutations. Now they have potentially 3 or 4 mutations from their grandfather. Are they still related? Sure, but their DNA may not say so. But if we were to look at the DNA of the Grandfather, Father and sons, then we could have the evidence that the grandchildren and grandfather are related because of the “missing link” of the father’s DNA. Now this is a very simplistic example of DNA mutation, and chances are it would not happen in exactly this way. But it could happen over a few generations especially when you look at all of the siblings and cousins.

What if you are that “missing link” that provides the DNA evidence that a member of one of our Missing Link families is really a descendant of your family? What if 2 of your cousins who on paper show they are related, but their DNA tests states they are not related? If you test your DNA, you could provide the needed evidence that your 2 cousins really are related – it’s just there were a lot of mutations. You have the “missing link” information in your DNA that helps prove our paper record is right. You could have the DNA evidence that will link one of our Missing Link families to your family – thus enabling them to finally know their heritage. Could you really deny your family the information that your DNA could potentially give them and allow them to finally know their heritage that they have been seeking out for so long? That is why we need EVERY male withStiles/Styles lineage to take the Y-DNA test. Help your family, help your cousins find their ancestry, take the Y-DNA test today.